Little White Rabbit

Kevin Henkes (2011), 32 pages

Audience: toddlers, pre-K

Format: picture book

Just in time for spring … decorated children’s author and illustrator, Kevin Henkes once again has created a classic storybook that children and parents will love. Following on the heels of his tremendously successful 2010 work Kitten’s First Full Moon – is Henkes 2011 release of Little White Rabbit. Follow along as one curious little bunny explores his world with gusto. As little white rabbit ventures out to discover the fresh, spring landscape he is filled with wonderment. As the bunny’s imagination grows so does Henkes illustrations. For instance when the little white rabbit hops “through the high grass, he wondered what it would be like to be green” and voila with a turn of the page our little white rabbit is now eying his green reflection in a pond. As he hops “over a rock, he wondered what it would be like not to move” and the following page shows little rabbit as a stone-still statue. He wonders all kinds of things, such as what it might be like to be tall as a fir tree or flutter in the air like a butterfly. But when he returns home … he never wonders who loves him because he knows his family does. My favorite part is the last page, an image of little white rabbit snuggling up to his sleeping family, but his curiosity is once again sparked as a bee flies overhead. The illustrations are lighthearted and cheery. Color pencil and acrylic paint in colors like mint and chartreuse, sky blue, and pink capture the renewal of a new spring day. Henkes’s narrative is both sweet and satisfying – a great book for preschoolers!

Reviewed by: Katharine Quinn, SJSU MLIS Student

If you liked this book, you may like: The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

Other books by this author: Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse, Kitten’s First Full Moon (Caldecott Medalist), My Garden, Wemberly Worried, and Owen (Caldecott Honor), Old Bear, and Olive’s Ocean (Newberry Honor)